We can’t *imagine* how that happened

Gosh, we just need to lighten up, don’t we? You can click on the image to read it, or I can just save you the trouble. It says, under “Liberal Hunting Permit”:

“No Bag Limit – Tagging Not Required. May be used while under the influence of Alcohol. May be used to Hunt Liberals at Gay Pride Parades, Democrat Conventions, Union Rallys, Handgun Control Meetings, News Media Association, Lesbian Luncheons and Hollywood Functions MAY HUNT DAY OR NIGHT WITH OR WITHOUT DOGS”

Now, clearly, this is just another example of “the most benign humor,” as one of the commenters over at the Prison Fellowship Ministries blog puts it. See, over there they are talking about how funny and silly it is for anyone to be offended by that Snickers ad that was pulled – this would be the one in which Mr. T mock-executes a race walker for failing to “run like a real man.”

Title: Speedwalker Marketer: Snickers Agency: AMV BBDO, London

In this Snickers spot, a butt-wiggling race walker is just too effeminate for Mr. T’s liking.

This is “just a silly ad,” according to the Chuck Colson crowd, representing merely one of those “escapist little worlds that don’t actually exist,” such as ads where “shirt stains talk to the person wearing the shirt.”

Because, as everyone well knows, the notion of an effeminate man actually being murdered by an enraged homophobe is as fantastical as the notion of a talking shirt stain.

Likewise, it’s “just entertainment” when Ann Coulter says that “liberals” should be beaten with baseball bats, when Dick Morris calls “liberals” traitors who should be decapitated, when Ken Hutcherson says that, were he to encounter an effeminate man, he would “rip off his arm and beat him with the wet end,” and when Jimmy Swaggart says about any man who might look at him with romantic interest, “I’m going to kill him and tell God he died.”

Here’s Wayne Besen discussing all this hilarity in the context of the unhappy Tennessee shooter:

The far right’s dirty little secret is that they depend on the threat of violence to retard the advancement of the GLBT movement. Without the fear of physical attack, the number of people who are out of the closet would quickly multiply. Gay couples would hold hands in every city in the nation. On each block, from San Francisco to San Antonio, gay and lesbian people would be visibly present.

Each day, all but the bravest GLBT people make subtle or even significant adjustments to remain safe. Some dress a little blander in order to blend in. A number of gay men talk a bit deeper so they won’t arouse suspicion. Some lesbians apply make up so they won’t get beaten up. And, most loving couples act like buddies so they won’t get bashed.

We tell ourselves comforting lies, such as “we don’t like public displays of affection,” to justify pushing a partner’s hand away at a romantic moment. But, the reality is, even the most confident and brave among us have something to fear.

Apologists for the status quo of our cultural discourse are busily tripping over each other to declare the unfortunate Mr. Adkisson simply a “nut job” with nothing – nothing – to do with them and their spewing of hate.

We live in a society filled with violently homophobic messages and images, yet the perpetrators – both religious and secular – feign innocence and say they can’t imagine how anti-gay hate crimes occur.

Besen goes on to call out the outrageous hypocrisy of those who claim that even slightly gay-positive images or ideas “promote homosexuality,” and at the same time vehemently deny that their own vicious statements and “jokes” could possibly have any material outcome. How is it that something like a student play about tolerance, or the presence of a safe space for GLBT youth can be thought of as having the amazing power to actually change peoples’ sexual orientation; but a constant barrage of ugly, dehumanizing messages about GLBT people couldn’t possibly incite a violent outburst such as the one we saw in Knoxville – and that takes the life of a transgender person every single month?

Those who exhibit this hypocrisy need to be exposed each and every time they open their foul mouths. Now let’s all review the useful suggestion from our “conservative” friend: Make sure you are armed, just in case there is a terrorist attack by one of the “nut jobs” who has been whipped into a frenzy by all this “benign humor.” Won’t it be fun for them to try to guess which “soft target” is really packin’ heat?